Barbershop (MVD Marquee Collection) Blu-ray Review + Screenshots

Studio: MVD Visual

Release Date: September 13th, 2002 (theatrical) / September 11th, 2018 (blu-ray)

Run Time: 102 mins

Region Code: REGION A (locked)

Picture: 1080p (1.85:1 Aspect Ratio)

Sound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Starring: Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, Troy Garity

Written by Mark Brown, Don D, Scott, and Marshall Todd

Directed by Tim Story

THE FILM ⭐⭐⭐

A day in the life of a barbershop on the south side of Chicago. Calvin, who inherited the struggling business from his deceased father, views the shop as nothing but a burden and waste of his time. After selling the shop to a local loan shark, Calvin slowly begins to see his father's vision and legacy and struggles with the notion that he just sold it out. The barbershop is filled with characters who share their stories, jokes, trials and tribulations. In the shop we find Eddie, an old barber with strong opinions and no customers. Jimmy is a highly educated barber with a superiority complex who can't stand Isaac, the new, white barber who just wants a shot at cutting some hair. Ricky is an ex-con with two strikes against him and is desperately trying to stay straight. Terri is a hard-edged woman who can't seem to leave her two-timing boyfriend. And lastly there's Dinka, a fellow barber who is madly in love with Terri but doesn't get the time of day.

Barbershop is a funny, touching film that gets a bit bogged down in plot and hijinks that have nothing to do with the titular barbershop. When the film is with the people in the barbershop, it is gold. Everything else could have been taken out of the film and the only thing that would have been hurt was the runtime. I feel that if the filmmakers had taken a day in the life approach, the film would have fared a lot better. As it stands, the film is funny except when the plot and other hijinks kick it.

THE PICTURE ⭐⭐⭐

Presented in the film’s original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, Barbershop looks good on blu-ray, but not great. Detail can be high at times and the overall picture is appealing. Colors are good, but sometimes they fall flat. This is an older transfer, so everything looks like it would have if it were released on blu-ray five or so years ago. Clearly, MGM doesn’t really care about this film (or the series) so they never gave the film the attention it deserves. The transfer is better than what you would see on basic cable, but not by much.

THE SOUND ⭐⭐⭐

MVD gives us a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track to listen to and it is good. Dialogue is crisp and clear and the music used throughout the film sounds nice. The track isn’t active in the surrounds unless there is a chase scene.

THE FEATURES ⭐⭐1/2

The Hair Club:

The Final Cut (19m 27s, SD, 1.33:1) The making of Barbershop
Set, Press, and Style (6m 4s, SD, 1.33:1) A look at the film’s production design.
Finishing Touches (5m 59s, SD, 1.33:1) A look at the film’s costume design.
Hairdos and Don’ts (7m 1s, SD, 1.33:1) A look at black hairstyles past and present.

Deleted Scenes

”You Want Some Boom-Boom? (1m 27s, SD)
Ricky’s Routine (41s, SD)
You Know We In the Ghetto” (32s, SD)
“You Ain’t Right With Jesus” (58s, SD)
“All I Need Is $18,900” (1m 14s, SD)
“Just Give Me A Sign” (58s, SD)
“You Smell Chicken” (52s, SD)

All of the deleted scenes can be played with or without commentary from director Tim Story.

Bloopers and Outtakes (4m 53s, SD, 1.85:1, 4x3)

“Barber Banter” Featurette (2m 39s, SD, 1.33:1)

“Trade It All” Music Video with Fabulous featuring P. Diddy and Jagged Edge (5m 13s, SD, 1.33:1)

Commentary with director Tim Story, producers Robert Teitel and George Tillman, and writer Don Scott Jr. (found in Set-up Menu)

Trailers (found on Main Menu)

Barbershop (2m 13s, SD)
Barbershop 2 (1m 59s, SD)
Beauty Shop (57s, SD)
Chokeslam (1m 25s, HD, 2.35:1)
Crazy Six (2m 6s, SD, 1.33:1)
Out of Time (2m 6s, SD, 2.35:1)
Walking Tall (1m 16s, SD)
Windrider (26s, SD, 1.33:1)

All of the special features are from the 2003 DVD released by MGM. There is nothing new here. While that is a shame, it isn’t a deal breaker. While none of the special features are amazing, there a few that are worth the time. The featurette about black hairstyles was interesting and the bloopers are good for a laugh or two. Everything else is ok at best, but these features are extremely dated and don’t hold up very well.

OVERALL ⭐⭐⭐

Barbershop is a fun film that has some wonderful scenes in it, but gets bogged down a bit from scenes that aren’t needed for anything other than padding the run time. The film would have been better off just focusing on the barbershop and the people in and around it.

The blu-ray, from MVD, is good. The picture quality isn’t going to win any awards, but it gets the job done. The sound is also good. The special features are nice to have, but are dated and kind of boring. I would still recommend this disc for the film alone, the rest is just an additive.

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